2007 Opel Astra: We get behind the wheel of the next Euro Saturn

By
Julian Rendell

Mar 29, 2007

Saturn is on a roll, with a momentum unequaled since the nameplate first appeared on the General Motors brandscape in 1990.

But no-haggle pricing goes only so far in a product-starved showroom. Today, GM is combining European chassis technology and body styling with the Saturn badge and brand to create new products for its import-fighting division, a strategy best exemplified by the Saturn Aura sedan. A rebodied and rebranded version of GM’s European Opel Vectra midsizer, the Aura was deemed so good it won the 2007 North American Car of the Year award.

The next dance in this transatlantic two-step is the more straightforward, badge-engineered Saturn Astra, which arrives in the States this fall as a 2008 model.

In Opel’s range, the Astra is a compact hatchback one level below the Vectra/Aura and is Opel’s bulwark against the formidable Euro-market tandem of the Volkswagen Golf/Ford Focus and, to a lesser extent, the Honda Civic. The car will nestle into a similar slot for Saturn, replacing the compact Ion but with a sticker price between $2,000 and $3,000 more than the car it replaces, according to reports.

Based on the latest, facelifted Astra, the Saturn version will be unchanged except for Saturn badges and light trim and chassis adjustments. Changing the body isn’t a priority for the Astra, which remains contemporary and sharp four years after launch—particularly in its three-door coupe/hatch style.

Although the Euro Astra is offered with a snorting 240-hp, turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder (do we smell a Red Line?), the U.S. Astra gets only one engine option so far: a perky 140-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder with variable valve timing. The engine is mated to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transaxle.

We sampled a five-door, automatic-equipped, 1.8-liter model in Britain—a car virtually identical except for badges to the model Saturn will import from Belgium and put on sale in the United States.

Honda engines are smoother, and VW’s 150-hp 2.5-liter offers more punch, but the Astra’s 1.8-liter mixes just enough of both to be class-competitive. It matches sweetly with the four-speed automatic, which has the intelligence to keep the Astra in the right gear while executing snappy yet smooth gearchanges. While the sport button sharpens the automatic’s reflexes and provides instant downshift for passing, its dash mount puts it too far out of reach at critical moments.

The Astra chassis is capable, with well-weighted steering and good grip. But when pushed hard, the Astra’s simple twist-beam rear suspension loses composure over dips, crests and sweeping switchbacks compared with competitors equipped with multilink rear axles. Such edge-of-the-envelope dramatics probably won’t matter to Saturn buyers now driving around in Ions—even the dullest pilot will sense a much sharper drive in the Astra.

The Astra also offers a forgiving ride, smooth and reasonably quiet cruising, firm seats and a businesslike cabin with good-quality plastics. Whether the austere, black-everywhere trim will play well in the States remains to be seen.

The Astra could be the vehicle that takes Saturn back to its roots as GM’s top import fighter. Funny that it took a foreign car to do the job.

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